Order of Speculation
by Ashliebelle
Summary: The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four.(Finished)


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix This does not belong to me at ALL!!! The following sentences are JKR originals from the real OotP which inspired this story: "The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four."  
  
  
  
  
  
The hottest day of the summer so far was drawing to a close and a drowsy silence lay over the large, square houses of Privet Drive. A gentle wind sifted through the leaves of the tallest trees creating the only perceptible movement, with the exception of the curtains belonging to a long-necked resident who occasionally nudged them aside to observe her neighbor's new and expensive lawn ornaments. The only person left outside was a teenage boy who was lying flat on his back in a flowerbed outside number four. As stars began to materialize he gazed into the atmosphere, wondering if he would be able to catch sight of a star at the precise moment the opaque blueness of the evening sky disappeared from in front of it. His eyes, he discovered, weren't patient enough to stare in one place, so stars seemed to appear only when he looked at a different part of the sky, almost like magic.  
  
Harry Potter, though, was no stranger to magic; he had been a wizard- in-training since he was eleven. Even if his bright green eyes couldn't find an emerging star, he could name quite a few of them thanks to his Astronomy classes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He also knew some of the magical creatures and beings that could be found in the constellations and how to predict his own future by studying their placement in the sky. Harry laughed to himself because although he had taken two years of Divination with Professor Trelawney, he was closer to discovering a thirteenth use for dragon's blood then predicting his future. The magic of Divinitation was one of the most imprecise that Harry studied at Hogwarts, and was somewhat of a joke to him and his best friend Ron Weasley.  
  
As Harry felt the pressing heat of the day lift slowly from the bed of flowers, he wondered what Ron was doing at his house, the Burrow. Guarded from the snoopy eyes of muggles (non-magical humans), the Burrow was an excellent place for a large wizarding family like the Weasleys to live. With their bright red hair and countless magical objects, they weren't the most inconspicuous group of people in the world. Harry had been rescued from the Dursley's by the older Weasley twins, Fred and George, and by Ron in a flying Ford Anglia during his first summer back from Hogwarts.  
  
Harry frowned at the hollering which shook the windows of number four which was, unfortunately, where he was to stay for the duration of his summer holiday. Harry lived there with his uncle and aunt and their mammoth son, Dudley, whose fists could be heard pounding on the kitchen table from the far end of Magnolia Crescent. This was the reason why Harry lay outside in the tulips instead of in front of a television set like any other kid his age.  
  
Even if Dudley hadn't been complaining about the people his mother had forced him to invite to his birthday party coming up that weekend, Harry wouldn't have been inside watching television. First of all, the Dursleys wouldn't allow him to use the television even if he was physically dependent on it (which Harry suspected was the case with Dudley); and second, he would much rather finish his new book called Seeking A Destiny which was written by a handful Seekers who played for Hogwarts in their youth. Quidditch, a wizarding sport played on broomsticks, was one of Harry's favourite things to read about, probably because it had always been the thing at which he could excel since he started school at Hogwarts four years ago.  
  
Harry could barely remember what his life had been like before he received the acceptance letter to Hogwarts on his eleventh birthday. That was the day he met the half-giant Hagrid, and found out the truth; his parents hadn't been killed in a car accident like his Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia always claimed, but they had been murdered by the infamous wizard Lord Voldemort when Harry was only one year old. Harry survived the curse that killed Lily and James Potter, leaving him with a scar on his forehead. Not only did Harry survive, but the wizard so powerful his name was feared to be spoken was defeated when his own curse rebounded from Harry.  
  
He had been sent to live with his muggle relatives, who tried to keep themselves as detached from magic as possible, spitefully raising Harry like a caged mutt that required to be fed, clothed, and yelled at every now and then. Going to Hogwarts had been the best change in Harry's entire life, despite the unwanted fame and the dangerous confrontations he seemed to experience every year. Summer holidays, though, proved to be an unavoidable bane this year, especially since Professor Dumbledore specifically told Harry to stay at the Dursley's house until otherwise informed.  
  
The sound of a breaking dish inside the house disturbed his train of thought, and he listened for Aunt Petunia's reprimanding squeal. Petunia loved her darling baby Dudley, but her good dishes weren't to be trifled with. Harry heard her threaten to send her son to his room (not a terribly awful punishment, as Dudley had more merchandise than the average electronics store).  
  
"Harry!" His aunt rapped the window sharply and motioned for him to come inside and clean up the mess.  
  
He sat up slowly and brushed the dirt off his pants, watching the small clouds of dust disappear into the darkness. With a sigh, he entered the air-conditioned house and sought out the broom and dustpan. Harry wondered as he swept the shards into a pile if he would ever get a chance to leave Privet Drive that summer. 


End file.
